decisions, decisions

Once it had crossed my mind that the depiction of decision-making in narrative was an

Zeus, about to make a questionable decision

extraordinarily important part of pretty much every story, or at least every story I've ever been interested in reading, beginning with the Iliad, or possibly with the Epic of Gilgamesh (well, to be honest, more the Iliad), I assumed that I could not be the first person who has ever noticed this, and that there would be a large body of literature on this precise point.  There should be loads of theory on this subject, I thought cheerfully.  I can find the theory, read it, apply it to the Iliad and to Alice Oswald and see what I get (presumably something different for the two works).  And I can do this by March, before the conference. Piece of cake. So I looked around a little.

So far as I can tell, no one has ever noticed that the depiction of decision-making matters in narrative.

I've asked my friends in philosophy.  Why yes, there is a HUGE body of work on decision-making in philosophy - whole departments are built around studying this question. It all has to do with rational actors, and what such an actor would do and how they would make their decisions.  Has anyone ever met a rational actor? I asked, momentarily diverted.  Well, no, my philosopher friends admitted.  The theory is about what they would do if there were any.

I asked friends in communications theory, which seems to have a lot to do with theories of narrative.  They pointed me to the same books, plus some rather more practical stuff  that described how people actually do make decisions.  This was more entertaining, but just as irrelevant to my project.   And there is a lot of work done in the business schools on how to make good decisions, i.e. ones that will keep you making money.  This is eminently useful to some people, or it is if it works.  However.

I am still searching for anyone who has published on how people DESCRIBE the decision-making process.  Possibly there's something in psychology.

I cannot believe there's nothing out there, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.  Onward.

fine, here's the actual outline

We bow to the protestations of numerous colleagues and here post the uncensored, unadulterated outline of our paper, just as it appears in our own notes, minus the variables (for which you will wish to substitute your own).

We trust others will find this as useful as we have in the generation of creative thought.

Whedon meets Euripides, redux

Finally having some time free, after teaching, marking, submitting, seeing family, and collapsing,  my colleague and I are tackling our "Sacrificial Virgins" paper again.  For some reason this has been surprisingly difficult to finish; after 3 days' work we realised this was because we were trying to fit in every single thing either of us had ever thought about Buffy, Euripides, or Sacrificial Virgins.

On reflection, however,  it is quite possible that we will write again on tragedy, pop culture, virgins, or some combination thereof, so some of  these thoughts can surely go in the next paper.

We have therefore after long and careful thought produced an outline for the current paper, which I shall reproduce here since, as article outlines go, it is a model, a succinct template which I am sure will be useful to many others.  In the interests of serving the needs of our colleagues, as little as possible has been withheld to protect our results before publication:

Happy New Year, all.

Abstract for the CACW

English: intrpretation of the Shield of Achilles design described in the Iliad, by Angelo Monticelli (1778-1837) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I spent three months working on a grant proposal, but come to the conclusion that I'll be in a better position to successfully apply for a grant next year, so didn't submit it after all. So back to Oswald! 

The CACW/ CAPN conference this year is on the subject of "decisions in antiquity". Legal scholars are organizing it, and no doubt that's what they had in mind. However, that's not what I work on. I thought about submitting an abstract on Iphigenia at Aulis, which after all is all about the decision to sacrifice Iphigenia, something no one wants to do, but somehow it happens after all. However, although it's an interesting subject, I haven't been working on it, and I'm not sure I have anything to contribute on the I.A. at this point.

 So I thought, instead, about Memorial. And it immediately occurred to me that a very interesting thing about Memorial is that all of the decisions of the Iliad  have been omitted from Memorial, along with the narrative.  And that I would like to talk about.  So here is the abstract I submitted: we'll see if it flies ...

 The Decisions of Memorial 

 Alice Oswald's poem "Memorial", a re-translation of the death scenes in the Iliad, highlights the decision-making processes in the Iliad, by their absence in the modern poem.

 Decision-making processes in the Iliad are given prominence. Important decisions governing the entire narrative are made by those high in the social hierarchy – gods, kings, and aristocrats – and the process by which they arrive at decisions is shown in detail. Achilles chooses glory over a long life, and then changes his mind; Zeus chooses whose death, Achilles or Hector's, weighs more in the balance at the critical moment; the Shield of Achilles displays an alternative decision-making process for the peaceful settling of disputes.

 "Memorial", which removes the overarching narrative, the gods, and the major aristocrats, also removes all the points of decision of the Iliad, except for those small decisions individuals make which contribute to their own deaths. These omissions make each individual death seem inevitable, and the decision-making processes of the narrative illusory. For all the importance given to decision-making in the Iliad, argues "Memorial",the end was always known, and only the deaths were real.

***
I am not sure that the observation that when you skip the story, you also miss out on all the decision-making, which is (after all) part of the story, is a deep insight into the nature of narrative.  But it will be fun to think about.

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Visualizing Antiquity: the volume

Deutsch: Reliefs der tanzenden Nympfen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today I packaged up and sent off ten of the 18 promised articles for the "Visualizing Antiquity" volume of Mouseion.  (Five authors asked for more time; three have dropped off the map.) And wrote to the three authors I haven't heard from. I'm not sure that this counts as "research" mind you; it's more "filing".  Since one's brain does not engage with content, or at any rate, mine certainly hasn't.  Time enough for that when I have to write the introduction.   Still, it is an item on the to-do list, checked off.

I've been spending some time in the last week working on the not-yet-quite-ready-for-prime-time Myth on the Map project, to get it into shape before the conference next month.  So far I have done some checking of events and characters, and figuring out of what needs to go in the introduction.  And some vague thoughts about what needs to go on the poster, how many backup singers I need for the tutorial video, whether I can get Kickstarter funding (sure I could! Absolutely!  Who wouldn't want to donate to such a wonderful project! Money will fall from the sky!)  And then I wake up with a start.

Female epigram writers and River Tam (sadly, not)

Iphigenie (1862) by Anselm Feuerbach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our abstract for a Firefly collection was turned down (a colleague and I submitted one on sacrificial virgins, Iphigenia, and River Tam), so it's back to work in Classics.  I've submitted another abstract on female epigram-writers in antiquity; we'll see if it flies.  Meanwhile, my research files are in spectacularly good shape, and I have ported all my old Filemaker databases into .csv files so that I can actually get at the information contained therein, for the first time in several years. This might be procrastination except that it was possible that I actually needed it for the epigram abstract.  (I admit that once the work was done, I didn't find anything useful.)

Tomorrow: BC Election, and reading Iphigenia at Aulis, for a Sacrificial Virgin article.  (Another one).  Wednesday: Teaching "Cleopatra the Hellenistic Monarch" to an audience of 12 year olds.  And contemplating Alice Oswald, again, at last.  I shall begin, I think, by rereading my notes, and this blog.

River Tam, fridged (not)

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What the I Ching told me about research

Oracle shell with inscriptions This is a replica of an oracle turtle shell with ancient Chinese oracle scripts inscribed on it. Since this is a replica, the color may not be truthful to the real specimen. This photo was taken in July 2004 from an exhibit at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1989, 5 years before I finished my PhD, I asked the I Ching how I should find a thesis topic.   The answer was so extraordinarily apropos that I saved it.  I did not, however, follow it, which is why it took me five years to finish, instead of 18-24 months.

I found the response again just now, while tidying up my files and preparing to get back to work after the teaching term.  It's still good advice.  Perhaps a quarter of a century on I will have the sense to follow it.

Question:  How should I go about finding a topic for my thesis? 

Response:    Modesty

It is the way of the world to fill the empty cup.  Modesty is often rewarded in human affairs, just as valleys are filled by the erosion of great mountains.  Regardless of your position, Laurel, modesty is a very positive attribute.  If you are in a high position but are nonetheless modest, people will be drawn to you and the causes you espouse.  If your position is lowly, modesty will endear you to those of higher status.  Accordingly, true modesty is a virtue to which all should aspire. 

The most successful people are those who know how to bring each situation into balance by reducing that which is too great, and adding to that which is too little.  Such a person craves not power, but stable relations among men.  Modesty is the virtue which allows you to perceive the balancing force in each situation; humble people are not prey to the many illusions which grow out of self-aggrandizement.  If modesty is not natural to your disposition, Laurel, make a conscious effort to develop a strain of self-effacing humor.  Either that, or go into politics. 

There's an element of transformation in this situation. 

Even modesty, the most benevolent virtue, can be carried too far, Laurel.  People in humble positions can easily use false modesty as an excuse for weakness or vacillation.   True modesty does not imply humble goals, or a slack attitude regarding performance standards.  Taking pride in your work, Laurel, is very different from the pride born of self-importance.  

I'm back at work on Alice Oswald, and plan to post regular updates on weekdays.  Today I've spent shuffling files around on my computer, which (on the one hand) had to be done, but (on the other) I strongly suspect to be primarily a subtle and fiendish form of procrastination, like housecleaning - one can feel virtuous about it but it is, nevertheless, really beside the point.

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